{{Short description|American attorney and former government official (born 1971)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}} {{Use American English|date=June 2018}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Catherine Lhamon | image = Catherine Lhamon staff photo-US DoE.jpg | office = [[Office for Civil Rights|Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights]] | president = [[Joe Biden]] | term_start = November 17, 2021 | term_end = January 20, 2025 | predecessor = [[Kenneth L. Marcus]] | successor = Kimberly Richey | president1 = [[Barack Obama]] | term_start1 = August 2013 | term_end1 = December 2016 | predecessor1 = Russlynn Ali | successor1 = Kenneth L. Marcus | office2 = Deputy Director of the [[United States Domestic Policy Council|Domestic Policy Council]] for Racial Justice and Equity | president2 = [[Joe Biden]] | term_start2 = January 20, 2021 | term_end2 = October 25, 2021 | predecessor2 = Position established | successor2 = Chiraag Bains | office3 = Chair of the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights]] | president3 = [[Barack Obama]]<br>[[Donald Trump]] | term_start3 = December 2016 | term_end3 = January 20, 2021 | predecessor3 = Martin Castro | successor3 = [[Norma V. Cantu|Norma Cantú]] | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|8|5}} | birth_place = [[Richmond, Virginia]], U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | spouse = | children = 2 | education = [[Amherst College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br>[[Yale University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]]) }} '''Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon''' (born August 5, 1971) is an American attorney and former government official serving as the executive director of the Edley Center on Law and Democracy at the [[UC Berkeley School of Law]].
Lhamon served as assistant secretary for civil rights at the [[Department of Education]] during both the Obama and Biden administrations. During her tenure with the department, she instituted changes to Title IX rules that some [[feminism|feminist]] and [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] groups praised but [[conservatives]], [[libertarians]], and some [[Liberalism|liberals]] and feminists criticized.
Lhamon was deputy chair of the [[United States Domestic Policy Council]] for racial justice and equality from January to October 2021 and chaired the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights]] from 2016 to 2021.
== Early life and education == Lhamon was raised in Palo Alto, California. She earned a Bachelor of Arts from [[Amherst College]] and [[Juris Doctor]] from [[Yale Law School]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Catherine Lhamon, Assistant Secretary, Office for Civil Rights {{!}} Biography|url=https://www2.ed.gov/news/staff/bios/lhamon.html|date=2017-01-20|website=www2.ed.gov|language=en|access-date=2020-05-17}}</ref><ref name="usccr.gov">{{cite web|title=USCCR: About Us > Commissioners > Catherine E. Lhamon (Chair)|url=https://www.usccr.gov/about/bio/Lhamon.php|website=www.usccr.gov|access-date=2020-05-17}}</ref>
==Career== Lhamon began her career as a law clerk for [[William Albert Norris]] of the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]], then joined the Appellate Litigation Program at [[Georgetown University Law Center]].<ref name="DOEBio">{{cite web |url=https://www2.ed.gov/news/staff/bios/lhamon.html |title=Catherine Lhamon Biography |work=U.S. Department of Education website |publisher=[[United States Department of Education]] |date=January 19, 2017 |access-date=March 2, 2017}}</ref> For ten years, she was an attorney at the [[ACLU|ACLU of Southern California]]. After that, she was with the ''pro bono'' law firm [[Public Counsel]].<ref name="DOEBio"/>
In 2013, Lhamon became the [[Office for Civil Rights|assistant secretary for civil rights]] at the [[U.S. Department of Education]].<ref name="Homeroom">{{cite web |url=https://blog.ed.gov/2014/02/getting-to-know-assistant-secretary-for-civil-rights-catherine-lhamon/ |title=Getting to Know Catherine Lhamon |work=HOMEROOM |publisher=[[United States Department of Education]] |access-date=2017-03-02 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Keierleber|first=Mark|title=74 Interview: Catherine Lhamon Takes On Trump With Probe Into Cutbacks on Student Civil Rights|date=June 27, 2017 |url=https://www.the74million.org/article/74-interview-catherine-lhamon-takes-on-trump-with-probe-into-cutbacks-on-student-civil-rights/|access-date=2020-08-01|language=en-US}}</ref> During her tenure, that office issued "Dear Colleague" letters and other guidelines to school officials, clarifying that a school's failure to appropriately respond to sexual violence or its mistreatment of transgender students can constitute sex discrimination in violation of Title IX, outlining how schools can ensure that student discipline complies with laws prohibiting race discrimination, and explaining how the use of restraint or seclusion can result in unlawful discrimination against students with disabilities.<ref name="LATimes">{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=David G. |last2=Phelps |first2=Timothy M. |url=http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-campus-sexual-assault-20150817-story.html |title=How a little-known education office has forced far-reaching changes to campus sex assault cases |work=Los Angeles Times |date=2015-08-17 |access-date=2017-03-02 }}</ref><ref name="PruittLetter">{{cite web|url=https://www.ok.gov/oag/documents/Letter%20in%20Response%20to%20Collegue%20Letter%20on%20Transgender%20Students.pdf |title=Letter in Response to Colleague Letter on Transgender Students |author=State of Oklahoma |work=Oklahoma government website |date=2016-05-13 |access-date=2017-03-02 }}</ref><ref name=OCRreadingroompolicy>U.S. Dept. of Education, [https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/frontpage/faq/rr/policyguidance/index.html U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights Reading Room]</ref> The Title IX guidelines she instituted banned lawyers for the accused from cross-examining witnesses, strongly discouraged the accused from cross-examining witnesses, strongly encouraged schools to allow the complainants not to disclose their identity to the accused, and required schools to use a [[preponderance of evidence]] standard (i.e., more likely than not, as opposed to very likely or beyond a reasonable doubt) in evaluating claims.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lhamon |first1=Catherine E. |title=Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence |url=https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/qa-201404-title-ix.pdf |website=Department of Education |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> Some [[feminist]] organizations praised the new requirements and criticized the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump Administration]]'s education secretary [[Betsy DeVos]] for reversing them.<ref name="msmagazine.com">{{cite web |last1=Little |first1=Anita |title=A Week of White House Progress on Campus Rape |url=https://msmagazine.com/2014/05/02/newsflash-white-house-takes-on-campus-rape/ |website=Ms. Magazine |date=May 3, 2014 |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Betsy DeVos Should Be Ashamed of Herself |url=https://www.bitchmedia.org/article/on-our-radar/betsy-devos-should-be-ashamed |website=Bitch Media |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Pledge to Fight the Trump-DeVos Agenda in Your Community|url=https://act.nwlc.org/onlineactions/6xDpqtU54kqT0glXZmZe0g2 |website=National Women's Law Center |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> [[Ms. Magazine]] hailed "a week of progress for the Obama administration".<ref name="msmagazine.com"/> But the new regulations were criticized by [[conservatives]], [[libertarians]], and some [[Liberalism|liberals]] and feminists as violations of the [[due process]] rights of the accused.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Butcher |first1=Jonathan |title=Heritage Expert: The Trump Administration Rightly Ends 2014 Dear Colleague Letter on School Discipline |url=https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-expert-the-trump-administration-rightly-ends-2014-dear-colleague-letter-school |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190624132330/https://www.heritage.org/press/heritage-expert-the-trump-administration-rightly-ends-2014-dear-colleague-letter-school |url-status=unfit |archive-date=June 24, 2019 |website=Heritage Foundation |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref><ref name="nationalreview.com">{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=KC |title=The Return of Catherine Lhamon Is Another Biden Betrayal |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/10/the-return-of-catherine-lhamon-is-another-biden-betrayal/ |website=National Review|date=October 20, 2021 }}</ref><ref name="reason.com">{{cite web |last1=Soave |first1=Robby |title=Catherine Lhamon, Once and Future Title IX Czar, Says Campus Rules Don't Require 'Presumption of Innocence' |url=https://reason.com/2021/07/14/catherine-lhamon-title-ix-ocr-senate-help-innocent/ |website=Reason |date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref><ref name="nytimes.com">{{cite news |last1=Bazelon |first1=Laura |title=I'm a Democrat and a Feminist. And I Support Betsy DeVos's Title IX Reforms. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/04/opinion/-title-ix-devos-democrat-feminist.html |website=New York Times |date=December 4, 2018 |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> Feminist author [[Lara Bazelon]] wrote that the regulations "gave risk-averse schools incentives to expel the accused without any reliable fact-finding process."<ref name="nytimes.com"/> In 2015, 16 [[University of Pennsylvania]] professors signed a letter expressing concern about the regulations' fairness.<ref>{{cite web |title=Open Letter From Members of the Penn law School Faculty |url=http://media.philly.com/documents/OpenLetter.pdf |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> The regulations were reversed in 2020 by education secretary Betsy DeVos.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Grayer |first1=Annie |last2=Stracqualursi |first2=Veronica |title=DeVos finalizes regulations that give more rights to those accused of sexual assault on college campuses |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/06/politics/education-secretary-betsy-devos-title-ix-regulations/index.html |website=CNN |date=May 6, 2020 |access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref>
In December 2016, Lhamon was appointed chair of the [[United States Commission on Civil Rights]].<ref name="WashingtonMonthly">{{cite web |url=http://washingtonmonthly.com/people/catherine-e-lhamon/ |title=Catherine E. Lhamon |work=Washington Monthly website |date=February 28, 2017 |publisher=[[Washington Monthly]] |access-date=2017-03-02 }}</ref> In 2019, she was appointed California legal affairs secretary by Governor [[Gavin Newsom]].<ref name="usccr.gov"/> In 2019, Lhamon was mentioned by liberal group [[Demand Justice]] as one of their recommended [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] nominees.<ref>{{cite web|date=2019-10-15|title=Demand Justice - Demand Justice Releases Supreme Court Shortlist of Diverse, Progressive Lawyers|url=https://demandjustice.org/demand-justice-releases-supreme-court-shortlist-of-diverse-progressive-lawyers/|access-date=2020-08-01|website=Demand Justice|language=en-US}}</ref>
On May 13, 2021, President [[Joe Biden]] announced his intention to nominate Lhamon for a second term as assistant secretary for civil rights at the [[Department of Education]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bidenwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/05/13/president-biden-announces-his-intent-to-nominate-catherine-lhamon-for-assistant-secretary-for-civil-rights-at-the-department-of-education/|title=President Biden Announces His Intent to Nominate Catherine Lhamon for Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the Department of Education|date=2021-05-13|publisher=[[The White House]]|access-date=2021-10-30}}</ref> The nomination was submitted to the Senate on the same day and referred to the [[Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions]]. The committee deadlocked on an August 3 vote to report the nomination favorably to the Senate. The Senate voted to discharge the nomination from the committee on October 7 by a vote of 50–49. Vice President [[Kamala Harris]] [[List of tie-breaking votes cast by the vice president of the United States|cast two tie-breaking votes]] on October 20 on the Senate's motion to invoke [[Cloture#United States|cloture]] on, as well as to confirm, Lhamon's nomination.<ref>{{cite web|title=PN572 - Nomination of Catherine Elizabeth Lhamon for Department of Education, 117th Congress (2021-2022)|url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/117th-congress/572|website=congress.gov|date=October 20, 2021 |publisher=[[Library of Congress]]|access-date=2021-10-30}}</ref>
On May 7, 2024, as head of the Office for Civil Rights, Lhamon issued guidance that broadened the Department's definition of alleged antisemitism on college campuses,<ref>{{cite web|date=2024-05-07|title=Dear Colleague Letter: Protecting Students from Discrimination, such as Harassment, Based on Race, Color, or National Origin, Including Shared Ancestry or Ethnic Characteristics|url=https://www.ed.gov/sites/ed/files/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-202405-shared-ancestry.pdf|access-date=2026-01-15|website=ed.gov|language=en-US}}</ref> for the first time giving "hypothetical examples of antisemitism that included acts of criticism or protest against Israel", which the [[American Association of University Professors]] identified as contributing to a federal policy of conflating [[anti-Zionism]] with discrimination. <ref>{{cite web|date=2025-11-05|title=Discriminating Against Dissent: The Weaponization of Civil Rights Law to Repress Campus Speech on Palestine|url=https://mesana.org/pdf/Discriminating_Against_Dissent_Report.pdf|access-date=2026-01-15|website=ed.gov|language=en-US}}</ref>
In June 2025, Lhamon became the inaugural executive director of the Edley Center on Law and Democracy at the [[UC Berkeley School of Law]]. Named in honor of her mentor [[Christopher Edley Jr.]], the center's mission is to "defend and strengthen democratic institutions in the United States through actionable research and public leadership."<ref>{{cite web |last=Gallegos |first=Emma |date=June 30, 2025 |title=Catherine Lhamon picked to head Cal’s Edley Center on Law & Democracy |url=https://edsource.org/updates/catherine-lhamon-picked-to-head-cals-edley-center-on-law-democracy |website=edsource.org |location= |publisher=EdSource |access-date=February 27, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Andrew |date=May 13, 2025 |title=Renowned Public Service Lawyer Catherine E. Lhamon to Lead Edley Center at UC Berkeley Law |url=https://www.law.berkeley.edu/article/renowned-public-service-lawyer-catherine-lhamon-to-lead-edley-center-at-uc-berkeley-law/ |website=Berkeley.edu |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=UC Berkeley Law |access-date=February 27, 2026}}</ref>
==Personal life== Lhamon is married to Giev Kashkooli, the political and legislative director of the [[United Farm Workers]] union.<ref>{{cite web|title=Executive Board|url=https://ufw.org/about-us/executive-board/|access-date=2020-08-02|website=UFW|language=en-US}}</ref> They have two children.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://blog.ed.gov/2014/02/getting-to-know-assistant-secretary-for-civil-rights-catherine-lhamon/ |title=Getting to Know Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Catherine Lhamon - ED.gov Blog |access-date=March 2, 2017 |archive-date=March 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303045755/https://blog.ed.gov/2014/02/getting-to-know-assistant-secretary-for-civil-rights-catherine-lhamon/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{C-SPAN}} *{{IMDb name}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lhamon, Catherine}} [[Category:1971 births]] [[Category:21st-century American women lawyers]] [[Category:21st-century American lawyers]] [[Category:Amherst College alumni]] [[Category:Biden administration personnel]] [[Category:Jewish American government officials]] [[Category:Lawyers from Richmond, Virginia]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:Obama administration personnel]] [[Category:First Trump administration personnel]] [[Category:United States Commission on Civil Rights members]] [[Category:United States Department of Education officials]] [[Category:Women government officials]] [[Category:Yale Law School alumni]] [[Category:Jewish American women in politics]]